Call for Papers

Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), rooted in the legacy of Vygotsky, Leont'ev and Luria, is a multi-disciplinary
theory, which has gained increasing popularity and relevance among researchers in the field of organization studies (Adler,
2005; Blackler, 2009). CHAT is a theory oriented towards analyzing and supporting the development of practices in organizations.
It offers a framework for researchers and practitioners to become involved in collective reflection and learning processes
within historically evolving organizations. CHAT provides analytical, conceptual tools, such as models of activity systems,
concepts of contradiction and zones of proximal development to examine organizations as designed by human beings (Engeström,
2006; Engeström & Sannino, 2011).

CHAT has proven to be a useful theory, for example in the following areas
of organization studies:

Strategic management, practices of strategy making

Organizational learning
and competencies

Organizational change management and knowledge management

CHAT includes
an interventionist methodology for enhancing reflection of collective activities, development, learning and change in organizations.
The methodology has various applications in which theory and practice intertwine, such as the Change Laboratory method and
the Clinic of Activity. The use of CHAT in the study of organizations has, however, not yet deeply anchored in discussions
within organization studies.

The aim of this sub-theme is to bring together scholars using activity-theoretical
frameworks and to develop and cultivate the use of CHAT in organization studies further. In this sub-theme we identify a range
of themes concerning activity theory and organizations. We welcome papers examining themes such as:

Transformative
agency in organizational change efforts

Expansive learning and concept formation in and between organizations

Dialectical contradictions and their resolutions in organizations

Multivoicedness and critical encounters
in organizations

Organizational boundary crossing and knotworking

Multiple tool constellations and
their roles in reflection and innovation processes in organizations

We also invite contributions that
deal with other related themes and appreciate papers establishing a dialogue between CHAT and other practice-based theories
(Miettinen et al., 2009). We are also interested in theoretical papers taking a critical stance towards CHAT as a theory.
We welcome innovative, theoretical and empirical work as well as both micro- and macro-level analysis. We especially appreciate
empirical papers using CHAT as a methodological tool in the study of organizations.

Yrjö Engeström is Professor of Adult Education and Director of the Center for Research on Activity, Development and Learning (CRADLE) at
the University of Helsinki, Finland. He is also Professor Emeritus of Communication at the University of California, San Diego,
USA. Yrjö applies and develops cultural-historical activity theory as a framework for the study of transformations and learning
processes in work activities and organizations. He is widely known for his theory of expansive learning and for the methodology
of developmental work research. His current research focus is new forms of expansive learning in activity fields characterized
by co-configuration and knotworking between producers and customers/users.

Anu Kajamaa is a post-doctoral researcher at the Center for Research on Activity, Development and Learning (CRADLE) at the University
of Helsinki, Finland. Her doctoral dissertation – titled "Unraveling the Helix of Change: An activity-theoretical study of
health care change efforts and their consequences" – is an activity-theoretical study of change management and long-term evaluation
of organizational change efforts within formative interventions. Anu has conducted extensive collaborative research and intervention
projects in the Finnish health care system and produced several refereed publications in national and international journals.

Zlatko Bodrožić is leader of a research group on Organizational Innovation at the Institute of Psychology, University of Belgrade, Serbia.
He received his PhD at the University of Helsinki, Finland. His PhD thesis is titled "Post-Industrial Intervention: An Activity-Theoretical
Expedition Tracing the Proximal Development of Forms of Conducting Interventions". His research interests include the use
of cultural-historical activity theory as a framework for the study and support of organizational innovation. Zlatko's current
research focuses on applying and developing methods of intervention to support transformations and learning processes in work
activities in Central and Eastern Europe.